KoalaJ Reviews: Meanwhile (Futurama)
by KoalaJ
Summary: A review of The Futurama episode Meamwhile, part of my new series 'KoalaJ Reviews', taking requests for other reviews though I have others in mind that I already have planned.


**Hello, Koala's! Today, I would like to announce the beginning of 'KoalaJ Reviews', a series in which I review episodes or films for your entertainment. I take requests for reviews, too, but unfortunately I can't review everything so as long as it's something that isn't too heavy with violence (because I have a phobia of blood), then go ahead and request, though I can't guarantee I can find that film/episode.**

**Today, I shall review the last episode of Futurama 'Meanwhile'. Enjoy!**

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While it has been said that, in it's final seasons Futurama seemed to have 'lost it's heart', according to fans, I can go on record and say that it truly didn't. For a show so ripe with both science and comedy, Futurama truly does have a heart under all of that, and the series finale 'Meanwhile' shows that.

With seven seasons, the fifth of which was made of four direct-to-DVD movies split into four episodes each, Futurama has always been a smart show, and while it's true it's final seasons may not be as good as the originals, it still had a heart.

'Meanwhile' begins with a standard plot for Futurama, and we, the fans have come to expect something from a Fry and Leela episode. We expect jokes, something sweet to happen at the end, and then Bender to be his good old robot self, but 'Meanwhile' felt so much different than the others, such as 'The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings', another fan favourite episode. 'Meanwhile' didn't have as many jokes as usual, and it didn't have Bender...but it did end on what was possibly the sweetest line in the entire series.

The amount of nostalgia in the episode as it begins in Luna Park, the site of the second episode of the whole series and Planet Express' first delivery, is astounding. After a near-death experience from Leela, Fry decides to finally propose to her. A simple concept for Futurama, but lets see what happens.

Meanwhile, Professor Farnsworth has invented a 'time button' a device that sends the user ten seconds backwards in time. After taking the time button, Fry proposes to Leela and asks her to meet him at the Vampire State Building at 6:30 if her answer is Yes, or to not show up if it's No.

Then the episode truly begins. After thinking Leela isn't going to show up, Fry decides to jump off the building. As he falls, he sees Leela walking towards the building, and after he uses the time button to stop his descent, he eventually falls and dies anyway. Leela uses the button to revive him by going back in time, but in doing so 'kills' Farnsworth because he was outside the safety field, and his cronotons are scattered through time. Time around Fry and Leela comes to a complete stop, and they are the only wh can move through the now-frozen universe.

I wasn't too sure of the storyline at first, I'll admit I thought it sounded a little generic for one of Futurama's infamous finales. But by the end, my opinion was completely changed. Fr one thing, there was a brief moment in which a single snowflake was made beautiful, and it was actually touching to see what Fry and Leela were doing together since they were the only ones who weren't effected.

Characters: You can disagree all you like, but the fact that the episode revolved around only Fry and Leela really sold it as a suitable finale. In the others, we've seen plenty of Bender or Zoidberg, or any of the secondary characters. For an episode that looked like it was promising a lot, it was worth watching it all the way through just for these two characters.

Animation: There really was some decent animation in this episode, and honestly it was some of the best I've seen. Like I said before, that single moment where it zooms in on a single snowflake and Leela blows it away...I don't know why, but it was a beautiful moment. Another part of the animation was when the universe stopped and time was frozen, which really did look good, but adding onto that was Fry and Leela walking around the world together really did look great, when they were walking on the ocean or though all that snow.

Everything else: Where to begin with that ending? I was wondering how it was going to end, and then Professor Farnsworth revealed he tunnelled through time to find Fry, Leela and the Time Button. After fixing it, they can finally go back to before the Professor even thought of the Button. The 'sweetest line in the series' I mentioned earlier? It was the last line of the episode, and since Fry and Leela had gotten married it made the scene even sweeter. It was Leela's last line 'I do', before they go back in time. It really struck me, and I realised I might never see these characters or those locations again, and that was when I started crying. Trust me, if you haven't seen this episode yet, go ahead and enjoy it now.


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